Department for Transport

Acceleration Unit

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the Department for Transport Acceleration Unit’s (1) current work programme, (2) staffing number, and (3) annual budget; and what are its achievements to date.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Since its launch in October 2020, the Acceleration Unit has supported programme and policy teams to speed up the delivery of infrastructure projects and the implementation of new policy initiatives. The work of the Acceleration Unit is driven by the need to build back better, to level up the country and to decarbonise transport. Key achievements to date have included challenging delivery of the Restoring Your Railways programme, including the Dartmoor Line reopening and Northumberland Line; supporting the development of the National Bus Strategy, published on time in March 2021; working with DfT’s arms-length bodies on the development of modal acceleration programmes. The currently work programme includes acceleration oversight on a portfolio of 112 projects in the north through the Northern Transport Acceleration Council; ongoing challenge on the Restoring Your Railways programme; and supporting acceleration of the Manchester & Northwest Rail Transformation Programme to bring forward benefits to passengers in the north earlier. The Acceleration Unit is currently made up of three members of staff.

Railways: Electrification

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to announce new infill rail electrification schemes ahead of COP26.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Announcements on future rail electrification schemes will be informed by the outcome of the ongoing Spending Review.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Geothermal Energy

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include minima for (1) volume, or (2) price, for geothermal energy in the next Contracts for Difference electricity auction.

Lord Callanan: On 13 September 2021 we published draft parameters ahead of the fourth Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round which did not include a minimum for geothermal energy. The final budget notice will be published ahead of the CfD round opening in December.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include (1) an equivalent to, or (2) a replacement for, the Renewable Heat Incentive for large-scale renewable heat generation in their Heat and Buildings strategy.

Lord Callanan: Large scale renewable heat generation will be supported in a number of ways, including through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, the Green Heat Network Fund and the Green Gas Support Scheme. Further information on each of the schemes can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Travel: Additional Restrictions Grant

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reallocate unspent money from the Additional Restrictions Grant Scheme to support travel agents, tour operators and other travel businesses.

Lord Callanan: The Government has introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, including grants, business interruption loans and the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme. Allocation of Additional Restrictions Grant funds is solely within the remit of Local Authorities, as they are best placed to provide support that suits the needs of their local area. We continue to work closely with Local Authorities, encouraging them to distribute funding to those businesses most impacted by the restrictions. Reconciliation of the scheme will be undertaken after the closure of the fund on 31 March 2022.

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to abolish the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership; if they have such plans, to which body the Partnership's responsibilities would be transferred; and where it would be based.

Lord Callanan: The Government is hugely grateful for the work LEPs have done over the last ten years to support their local economies, including through the Local Growth Fund, Growth Hubs and giving valuable insight to local and national government. Earlier this year the Budget set out significant changes to the way local growth investments are supported, decentralising power and working more directly with local government across the United Kingdom. A review of the LEP was announced at the Spring Budget with the intention to state the Government’s plans around the role of LEPs in the forthcoming White Paper and at the Spending Review.

Additional Restrictions Grant

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the funding allocated to local authorities under the Additional Restrictions Grant Scheme had been spent by 31 July.

Lord Callanan: All data on Government allocations and Local Authority payments of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) is available at GOV.UK. As at the last date of publishing, 29 August 2021, Local Authorities had received £2,023,461,804 in ARG funding, and overall had reported to us as having spent £1,710,673,774.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Gender Recognition

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the processes that NHS trusts use (1) to arrange and specify facilities for transgender patients, and (2) to take into account the needs of other patients who may be sharing facilities with transgender patients.

Lord Kamall: No assessment has been made of the process used by National Health Service trusts for arranging these facilities nor the provision of single sex wards.We expect all NHS trusts to follow all aspects of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance Delivering same-sex accommodation, which sets out the small number of clinical circumstances where mixed-sex accommodation can be justified and also allows, in Annex B, for people to be allocated to wards according to their presentation, such as their preferred dress and pronouns . A copy of the guidance is attached. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently reviewing this guidance, including whether the Annex is consistent with the provision of single sex wards.Delivering same-sex accommodation (pdf, 414.8KB)

Hospital Wards: Gender

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether Annex B in NHS England's Delivering same sex accommodation guidance is consistent with the aim to provide of single sex wards by NHS Trusts.

Lord Kamall: No assessment has been made of the process used by National Health Service trusts for arranging these facilities nor the provision of single sex wards.We expect all NHS trusts to follow all aspects of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance Delivering same-sex accommodation, which sets out the small number of clinical circumstances where mixed-sex accommodation can be justified and also allows, in Annex B, for people to be allocated to wards according to their presentation, such as their preferred dress and pronouns . A copy of the guidance is attached. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently reviewing this guidance, including whether the Annex is consistent with the provision of single sex wards.Delivering same-sex accommodation (pdf, 414.8KB)

Hospital Wards: Gender

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the provision of single sex wards by NHS trusts.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to commission a review of the provision of single sex accommodation by NHS Trusts.

Lord Kamall: No assessment has been made of the process used by National Health Service trusts for arranging these facilities nor the provision of single sex wards.We expect all NHS trusts to follow all aspects of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance Delivering same-sex accommodation, which sets out the small number of clinical circumstances where mixed-sex accommodation can be justified and also allows, in Annex B, for people to be allocated to wards according to their presentation, such as their preferred dress and pronouns . A copy of the guidance is attached. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently reviewing this guidance, including whether the Annex is consistent with the provision of single sex wards.Delivering same-sex accommodation (pdf, 414.8KB)

Department for Education

Business: Coronavirus

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support educational travel businessesaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Barran: The government has worked at pace to provide an unprecedented and comprehensive package of support to help as many individuals and businesses as possible during this challenging period. The measures introduced include the small business grants, the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the deferral of VAT and income tax payments. These measures have been designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK. Further measures have been announced by my Right Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that build on the significant support already available as well as set out how current support will evolve and adapt. This includes the extension of the CJRS until the end of September 2021, extending and amending the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes to allow businesses more time and greater flexibility to repay their loans, and the extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant. The ‘Pay as you Grow’ measures will give UK businesses that borrowed under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years, and benefit from repayment holidays where required. The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), which launched on 6 April 2021, will ensure UK businesses of any size can continue to access loans and other kinds of finance up to £10 million per business as they grow and recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 outbreak. For RLS, the government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender to ensure they continue to have the confidence to lend to businesses. The scheme is open until 31 December 2021, subject to review. In line with the autumn and winter plan the Government continues to keep arrangements for international travel and the relaxation of travel restrictions under review.

Schools: Hygiene

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following reports of people drinkingalcohol-based hand sanitiser, what plans they have to withdraw those products from schools and replace them with effective alternatives.

Baroness Barran: The department has developed extensive guidance for all settings across the education, childcare and children’s social care sectors on how to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, including a range of protective and control measures for preventing the spread of the virus. There is information to support settings on their responsibilities that advises to clean their hands thoroughly, and more often than usual, as well as good basic hygiene, and the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach, which advises individuals to clean their hands with soap and water or use sanitiser: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-covid-19-operational-guidance#control-measures.Ultimately, schools remain responsible for the products that they require and, as with other cleaning products, schools can access hand sanitiser through their existing supply chains. There are many alcohol- and non-alcohol-based hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants on the UK market and schools should base the use of any of these products on their own risk assessment, alongside existing guidance.Our guidance signposts settings to the e-Bug COVID-19 website which contains free resources for settings, including materials to encourage good hand and respiratory hygiene. This information can be found at the following link: https://e-bug.eu/eng_home.aspx?cc=eng&ss=1&t=Information%20about%20the%20Coronavirus.All education, childcare and children’s social care settings should follow the UK Health Security Agency, formally known as Public Health England, guidance on cleaning for non-healthcare settings outside of the home. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings.Hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants are biocidal products. They are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive. The Health and Safety Executive publishes a list of authorised biocidal products, including hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants: https://www.hse.gov.uk/biocides/uk-authorised-biocidal-products.htm.The Cabinet Office and the Department for Health and Social Care published product specifications and standards associated with personal protective equipment at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/927550/Essential_technical_specifications_PPE_and_medical_devices-v0.3_Oct2020_accessible.pdf.

Ministry of Justice

Bronzefield Prison

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman recommendations for change at HMP Bronzefield, published on 22 September, will be implemented in a timely fashion.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to update Parliament on the progress of implementing the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman recommendations for change at HMP Bronzefield, published on 22 September.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Prisons and Probation OmbudsmanIndependent investigation into the death of Baby Aat HMP Bronzefield on 27 September 2019, published on 22 September, what discussions they have had with the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The events that took place at HMP/YOI Bronzefield were unquestionably tragic, and significant improvements have since been put in place both at the prison and across the entire female estate.The Ministry of Justice, Sodexo (the private providers who are contracted to run HMP Bronzefield) and health providers have accepted the recommendations made by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman in their thorough report and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) will continue to work closely with providers to ensure pregnant women in Bronzefield receive the best possible care. The on-site HMPPS Controller will oversee implementation of the recommendations in line with the agreed Action Plan and timelines, working collaboratively with NHSE and service providers.A project team is coordinating the implementation of the recommendations and to take forward wider learning across all women’s prisons.In July 2019 a fundamental review of policy relating to pregnancy, Mother and Baby Units and maternal separation from children up to the age of two in women’s prisons commenced, which concluded in July 2020, and HMIP were part of the consultation group. As a result of the review, a new policy has been published and learning from these tragic events has been incorporated into the new policy where appropriate.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Nigeria: Terrorism

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the possible threat to the UK of (1) the six Nigerians listed by the government of the United Arab Emirates as “global financiers of terrorism” on 13 September, and (2) the organisations in Nigeria which the government of the United Arab Emirates named as havingreceivedfunds and armaments from jihadist supporters.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns all support of terrorist organisations, including financiers, and welcomes an international response to stifle the capability of terrorists to conduct attacks. The UK aims to make the financial system an unsafe space for terrorists to raise and move funds using a range of disruptive tools and capabilities at our disposal to prevent the movement of terrorist finance into and out of the UK.We work closely with Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to support their efforts against terrorist organisations, including through the UK-UAE Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows, which launched on 17 September. We maintain up to date travel advice, including security assessments and the threat of terrorism, on the GOV.UK website.

Ministry of Defence

Warships: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intendto enhance the (1) armament, and (2) defensive, capability of the Royal Navy's Forth class offshore patrol vessels.

Baroness Goldie: In line with procedures for any deploying ship, the armament and defensive capabilities of the Batch 2 River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels are adjusted as required to ensure the ships can operate safely in accordance with their intended tasking.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessment they carried out ahead of the cessation of the Universal Credit uplift on 6 October.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: No Impact Assessment has been made of ending the Universal Credit Uplift, as it was always intended to be temporary. The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22. There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work. Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving around £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.

COP26

Population

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to raise the subject ofglobal overpopulation at COP26; and what proposals they have to address it.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to HL13299 on 25 February 2021.

Alok Sharma

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: To ask Her Majesty's Government what departmental supportthey provide to the COP26 President, Alok Sharma MP.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: A dedicated COP26 Unit, comprising 230 staff, has been set up in the Cabinet Office to oversee preparations for COP26. The COP26 Unit works closely with other government departments and the global diplomatic network.

Home Office

Interpreters: Afghanistan

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what process they followed topartner with Greater Good Global to resettle Afghan translators.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government has warmly welcomed hundreds of Afghan nationals to this country who have worked alongside our Armed Forces and diplomats in Afghanistan. There is a significant cross-government effort underway to ensure Afghans arriving in the UK receive the vital support they need to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education and integrate into their local communities. To do so we are working closely with local authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the commercial sector.In response to the Afghan crisis, a number of NGOs offered their services to the Home Office including Greater Good Global who are helping to provide wraparound services to Afghans accommodated temporarily in hotels, ensuring that they have access to essential living items and services until they are relocated into more permanent accommodation.

Rifles

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byEarl Howe on 6 February 2019 (HL Deb, col 410GC), what was the outcome of the consultation on the .50 calibre rifles; and what plans they have, if any, to ban such rifles.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government ran a public consultation on a range of firearms safety issues between 24 November 2020 and 16 February 2021.Amongst other issues, the consultation sought views on high muzzle energy rifles and whether enhanced security arrangements are necessary for these rifles to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Over 12,000 responses were received to the consultation. The Government is considering these responses carefully and will publish its response to the consultation in due course.

Extradition: India

Lord Singh of Wimbledon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the collapse of the case against Piara Singh Gill, Amritivir Singh Wahiwala and Gursharanvir Singh Wahiwala, why they certified an extradition request from the Indian authoritiesfor these individuals.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Extradition requests from outside the European Union are governed by Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003 (‘the Act’). Under section 70 of the Act, if the UK has formal extradition relations with such a territory – as it does with India – and receives a valid extradition request from it, the Secretary of State must certify the request unless certain narrow exceptions in the Act apply. In this case, none of those exceptions applied and, by law, the Secretary of State was obliged to certify the extradition requests.Certification of extradition requests by the Secretary of State is only one step in the extradition process. Requests are subsequently subject to the full scrutiny of the Court and the safeguards contained within the Extradition Act 2003.Having considered these cases, the Court discharged the three individuals wanted by India on the grounds that a prima facie case could not be established.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for (1) settled, and (2) pre-settled, status have been granted under the EU Settlement Scheme, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’.The latest published information on EUSS applications received and applications concluded to 30 June 2021, by Local Authority can be found in tables EUSS_LA_01, EUSS_LA_02 and EUSS_LA_03 (see attached) available at:EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, June 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Tables - EUSS_LA_01, EUSS_LA_02 and EUSS_LA_03  (xls, 290.0KB)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Insulation

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the share of contributions between (1) landlord, and (2) tenant, owners in a shared leasehold ownership scheme to the costs arising from cladding removal and fire safety improvements.

Lord Greenhalgh: The extent to which leaseholders are liable for works or not is governed by the terms in their leases. Government is providing over £5 billion in grant funding for the remediation of unsafe cladding on residential buildings 18 metres and over. This means that leaseholders (including those in shared ownership) in eligible high-rise buildings can be reassured that unsafe cladding will be replaced at no cost to them. Government is also establishing a generous finance scheme which will provide leaseholders in residential buildings of 11-18 metres with access to finance for cladding remediation costs. We will publish more details on how this scheme will work as soon as we are in a position to do so. Finally, we have also introduced a new model for Shared Ownership which will include a 10-year period during which the landlord will support with the cost of repairs in new build homes. The changes will prevent new shared owners from being hit with unexpected repairs and maintenance bills and will help to bridge the gap between renting and homeownership.

Regional Planning and Development

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what quantitative measure or measures they will use to determine the success of their levelling up policies.

Lord Greenhalgh: Levelling up is at the heart of the Government’s agenda to build back better after the pandemic and deliver for the people of the UK. The Government will publish a White Paper in due course that will set out our plans in more detail.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further tothe voter identification pilot schemes, what estimatethey havemade of the number of people who could be turned away from polling stations in a General Election.

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether returning officers will be required to retain data on the number of people who are turned away from polling stations because they do not have appropriate photographic voter ID and who (1) subsequently return with such ID, or (2) do not return to vote.

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty's Government what upper limitwill be set for the highest acceptable number of people turned away from polling stations because of a lack of appropriate photographic voter ID.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government in its manifesto committed to protecting the integrity of our democracy by introducing identification to vote at polling stations. Stealing someone’s vote is stealing their voice. Voter fraud is a crime that we cannot allow room for and we must stamp out any potential for it to take place in elections.Everyone who is eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so. Any eligible voter who does not have one of the required forms of photographic identification, can apply for a free, local Voter Card from their local authority. The Electoral Commission will provide a comprehensive, targeted communications campaign and guidance, raising awareness throughout the electorate of the new voter identification requirements.As set out in the Elections Bill, Electoral Registration Officers in England and Wales and Returning Officers in Scotland will be required to keep a record of those people for whom a ballot paper was refused and the reasons for this refusal.

Letting Agents: Regulation

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations of the report of the working group on the Regulation of Property Agents, published on 18 July 2019.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and renters and making sure that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents, protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector.The Government is considering the recommendations in the report received from the working group on the regulation of property agents. We welcome the work of the Noble Baroness as the Chair of the independent steering group on codes of practice for property agents, and we will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.

Unitary Councils

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Local Government Boundary Commission for England is required to propose new ward boundaries for the three new designated unitary authorities in North Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Somerset.

Lord Greenhalgh: We intend to seek Parliamentary approval early in 2022 to secondary legislation to establish new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset. These orders will provide for elections in May 2022 to the new unitary councils in their implementation form, including the council size and warding arrangements. It is expected that the Local Government Boundary Commission for England will carry out full electoral reviews of each of the new unitary councils before the second elections to these councils in May 2027.

Treasury

Tour Operators and Travel Agents: Non-domestic Rates

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure travel agents, tour operators and other travel businesses are prioritised for support from the Business Rates relief fund announced on 25 March.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: Funding for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs will be available once the legislation relating to material change in circumstance provisions, the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill, has passed and Local Authorities (LAs) have established their own local relief schemes. The Government will support LAs to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding. Formal guidance will follow in due course, setting out the specific considerations that LAs should have regard for when providing relief. Relief will be for LAs to award on a discretionary basis.